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BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom — Whether you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert, humans are wired to be social creatures. People are not meant to be isolated for long periods of time, and a new study shows how much of an effect having good-quality friendships as a teenager has on a person’s psyche when they reach adulthood.
Researchers in the United Kingdom found that having strong friendships during adolescence can help people cope with social exclusion up to 10 years later, during early adulthood. More specifically, adults with healthy friendships as teenagers grew to become more resilient. The study authors define resilience as an individual’s social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in the face of a traumatic experience or stressor.
“We would expect that everyone will have some problems with their mental health after any kind of stressful experience, at least in the short term,” says Maria Dauvermann, a researcher at the University of Birmingham’s School of Psychology and Institute for Mental Health, in a media release. “By using the definition of resilient functioning, we are taking a more sophisticated and dynamic approach that takes into account a whole range of different behavioral measures at different time points and in relation to the particular trauma severity that has been experienced.”
Study authors, publishing their work in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, enrolled a group of 14-year-olds who experienced childhood trauma and filled out the Cambridge Friendship Questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed four times, starting when each participant was 14 and ending a decade later when they were 24 years-old. Originally, 1,238 people completed the initial survey. However, 436 people remained to complete the final assessment at age 24. From this group, 62 agreed to have their brains imaged for the study.
At age 24, people who volunteered for brain imaging underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and were asked to complete a virtual activity that simulated social exclusion. The researchers tracked brain activity as participants took part in a ball-throwing game with two avatars.
Brain scans during the social exclusion simulation showed activation of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which is involved in creating and regulating emotions. People who reported having good friendships when they were 14 and better resilient functioning at age 24 appeared to have more positive responses to social inclusion and, in turn, better resilience towards stressful events. However, the results were less clear on how much brain activity involved in resilience was altered by social exclusion.
There’s more work to uncover the importance of young friendships on an adult’s mental health. One piece of the puzzle that still needs figuring out is how healthy adolescent friendships rewire the brain in the adult brain. Another question is how best to support teens who may not have friends or have mental health issues. According to the authors, offering programs involving peer support groups could help these teens.
“Mental health among young people is a complex and nuanced area. One of the things we hope to achieve through research programs like this one is to increase both awareness and understanding that will empower young people to seek support when they need it,” concludes Dauvermann.
